A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants. The tort may involve, for example, personal injuries suffered by numerous plaintiffs as a result of a defective product, or a mass disaster in which there were many injured persons, such as an airplane crash, or exposure of a large group of people to toxic chemicals or pharmaceuticals.
Virden is a city in Macoupin and Sangamon counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census. The Macoupin County portion of Virden is part of the St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois Metropolitan Statisical Area, while the Sangamon County portion is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region around the Virden area is where the two metropolitan areas meet.